In a latest action against rumour-mongers in Kashmir, the police today said they had registered a case against those who had updated a false report about the killing of a civilian in the Marhama area of Anantnag district.
“No civilian has been killed or injured in Marhama, Anantnag, as some rumour-mongers updated on their Facebook pages,” the police said in a statement.
They said an investigation had been initiated and a case registered against the persons who “are updating on their Facebook pages that a civilian was killed and many others were injured in a firing incident at Marhama”, the incident which the police said was “baseless and fabricated”.
Learning from the lessons of the past few days, the police reacted fast to stop the rumours from spreading as they had the potential to further destabilise the worsening situation in south Kashmir, where a civilian died during clashes in Pulwama district today.
The viral effect of the social media and its wide reach is becoming a headache for the state administration as several incidents in the past week have proven the instant impact of false information, disseminated in real time via social networking sites and messenger applications.
Jammu and Kashmir has a wireless subscriber base of nearly 10 million, which advances the dissemination of information — factual or incorrect.
In an earlier incident this week, there was panic in the region after a rumour mill went into overdrive that the polio vaccine administered to 9.40 lakh children in Kashmir division on Sunday morning had caused fatalities.
Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir zone, SJM Gillani said four people had been arrested for spreading the rumour on Sunday that polio vaccine had caused deaths.
“Once we complete the investigation, we will make suggestions. Wherever we have to act, we will act, and if there are any recommendations to be sent to the government, we will do that,” the IGP said. He said the police were also trying to increase its communication outreach with the public.
Police crack down on rumour-mongers
